Walking along roads less travelled
by bookaholic123
Summary: In a world where Sawada Tsunayoshi was not needed as the only remaining Decimo candidate, things quite obviously are different. Unfortunately (for Tsuna, the rest of us just get laughs out of his misery) some things still stay the same and diverging roads often have a nasty habit of ending in the same place anyways. Somewhat AU. Adult!Arcobaleno.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any themes, characters or elements taken from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Basically I don't own KHR.**

 **Edit: so I wrote a bit more and instead of updating a new chapter as I only wrote about 500 words I thought I'd add it on to this on and fix a few grammar errors in the original chapter. Not to mention add a disclaimer. Feel free to mention any grammar errors, I just wrote this in ten minutes and didn't proofread it properly. People who read it before start from after the paragraph, "** _Tsuna opened his eyes as he was dropped harshly to the ground, still very much alive and very much on fire. The man was scrambling away from him, sporting grotesque third degree burns that looked fresh and were most definitely not there before. Reborn had frozen and was now staring at him with slightly widened eyes belying his surprise as amber flames danced along Tsuna's skin but did not burn him._ **"**

 **AN: Go down for actual AN**

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The first time they meet is nothing special. In fact, the occasion is so unmemorable that none of them actually remember that is the first time they met until much later. The second time they meet isn't much better sans for the fact they actually exchange a few words this time. They quite simply are indifferent of each other.

That is until their third meeting.

Tsuna heaved a breath and ruffled his hair in frustration. The paperwork never seemed to end. If he didn't know better, he would think they were spawning. And if it weren't for his secretary inching her hand towards her phone, looking ready to call the insane asylum about its newest member the last time he divulged his suspicions to her, he would have had a study conducted. He would name it the theory of multiplying papers. Okay, maybe he did need an asylum.

He heaved another breath and made a snap decision. With a glance to the roster that was pinned up on the wall opposite to him to confirm it was Dorian on duty, he picked up the ancient red phone that clashed horribly with his new wooden desk that he purchased after his old glass one met an untimely death and called the reception. He tapped his fingers against the desk impatiently as he waited for the call to go through.

"Reception desk of Novalog tech speaking, how may I help you?"

"Ah, Dorian can you inform Hana that I'll be retiring from work early today?"

There's spluttering on the other side and then a silence that lasts a second too long to be natural. "But boss, she'll roast me alive if I tell her you're skiving of work! I swear, that woman makes me think the devil may be female after all" came the whine from the other side

"Hana can be a bit strong can't she but I'm sure she'll be more understanding this time.", Tsuna gave a genial laugh. Neither of them miss the hidden order in his words.

A longer silence lasted this time before Tsuna heard a short bark of laughter. "You've got everyone convinced you shit gold but I know the truth. If Hana is the devil then you're its master and what that says about you I won't say.", Dorian said with palatable amusement.

Tsuna leaned forward placing his elbows on the desk for support. "Careful now, I just might take offense.", he teased good naturedly.

"Yes, yes boss, no need to posture. I'll tell the devil woman."

"Thank you, Dorian.", Tsuna said putting down the receiver, cutting of Dorian's mocking you're welcome midway.

Tsuna rose in one smooth movement with a grace he could only dream of in his youth and grabbed his coat and scarf before proceeding out of his room to the elevators. On his way down he glanced at his watch to see if it was too late to go to that amazing sushi restaurant that was conveniently opposite to his apartment.

Smiling widely when he found that it no, it wasn't too late to stuff himself with the best Sushi in all of Italy, he walked out into the snow, waving an absentminded goodbye to Dorian as he left.

The winters in Italy were truly beautiful but Tsuna couldn't help but think the winters in japan were much better. He missed Japan so much and he missed his mother even more, he was long overdue for a visit. Although work was still occupying a majority of his time the thought of using that as an excuse left a bitter taste on his tongue. He wasn't his father and with any luck he wouldn't ever be anything like him. It had crushed him when he had to leave his mother alone in Namimori. He hadn't really had any friends he would miss in Namimori as no one had really wanted to befriend Dame-Tsuna and by the time Tsuna left behind the title he really wanted nothing to do with his former bullies either but his mother had always been there. Always with a smile and well-meaning although sometimes demoralizing encouragements. Never upset at who he was but always pushing him to be more even at the expense of her own happiness. He knew it killed her to lose her son on top of her husband but she never complained and in fact encouraged him to move and take up the job. He still visited her but not quite as often as he knew she wished he did. Pulling his scarf tighter around his neck, he nodded. He was definitely going to talk to Hana and have her clear his schedule for the whole of next week. Sure, he might die in the process but he figured it was the least he owed his mother.

New determination flowing in his veins he quickened his pace so he could get home and check for flight tickets before going out to eat. This distraction might have been the reason he didn't notice anything wrong until his arms were wrenched back into an unforgiving hold and he felt cool metal press up against the side of his head.

All at once awareness returned to him and over the furious pounding of heart he noticed he was in the alley that served as a shortcut to his apartment complex. There were several men in black, all of them toting guns and shooting him suspicious looks even as they had their guns trained on a man with fedora and what must be the world's curliest sideburns. Even though Tsuna couldn't see the face of the man in question he could tell he was amused with the current situation and that was enough to set of warning bells in his head.

It all looked like a scene out of a mafia movie…. Oh god! Tsuna freaked out, this was a mafia shootout, wasn't it?! He had stumbled quite literally into the middle of a mafia shootout! Even his luck couldn't be this bad could it, Tsuna despaired.

He was pretty sure they were talking to him now as indicative by the way the gun was painfully digging into his head in order to elicit a response. He just wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out. The harsh blow to his head centered him and this time when they said something he could actually hear them. He found himself grateful for this even as blood matted his hair into an uncomfortable sticky mess, better low to his head than a bullet to his brain due to his new found deafness.

"What the hell are you doing here boy?! What famiglia do you belong to?!", the man with a gun pressed to his head demanded while digging the gun into his head wound painfully for emphasis. Tsuna let out a half muffled scream of pain at the sensation before gathering his energy to answer.

"I- I don't know what y-you're t-talking about, I s-swear! Pleasedon'tkillme!", Tsuna half stuttered, half rushed out. As far as he was concerned it was a monumental achievement that his words were even slightly discernable.

The man gave a disbelieving snort and wrenched his arms further back making Tsuna give out another shriek of pain, eliciting a round of laughter from the men gathered but before the man could reply the-man-with-the-world's-curliest-sideburns interrupted him, clearly growing annoyed at the lack of attention, "Anyone with two eyes can see he's nothing but a frightened little civilian lamb Da vichi. Or has your level of intelligence drooped even more since I last saw you? I remain quite amazed that you even remember how to remain standing upright. I was certain by this point in your recession you would forget how your limbs function."

The man grew purple with rage, "You forget that I still hold all the cards Reborn. You're surrounded from all sides and even you won't be able to avoid twenty bullets coming at you from all sides. You better watch your tongue before I decide to cut it of your corpse."

The-man-with-the world's-curliest-sideburns who he now knew to be called Reborn looked quite bored with the posturing. "Why don't you give it a try then?", Reborn replied with a lazy smirk.

This was apparently the last straw, Tsuna all but forgotten the man ordered all of the suits to shoot. What happened next, Tsuna didn't think he'd ever be forgetting. Reborn fell to the ground at the last second, avoiding the bullets that zoomed past by barely a hair's breadth, making them hit the men surrounding Reborn rather than Reborn himself. As most of the men crumpled, Reborn rolled back to his feet picking of the survivors with bizarre green gun that Tsuna could have sworn he didn't have before. This all happened in a split second and Tsuna was fairly sure if he had blinked he would have missed it.

Reborn began a leisure stroll through the corpses – he actually killed somebody! - towards them. Tsuna barely suppressed a whimper. The man was shaking now, jostling Tsuna's sore limbs and sending pinpricks of pain shooting up his arms. "Don't take another step or-or I'll shoot the boy!"

Reborn wasn't fazed, "Why on earth would I care about some random civie? By all means go ahead."

The man seemed to pale in fear, "I'll really do it! I swear to god I will if you don't back away!"

Reborn rolled his eyes and Tsuna might have done so as well if not for the fact his life hung in the balance, as it stood Tsuna could barely breath as it became increasingly clear Tsuna wasn't going to walk away from this encounter. At least, not alive.

Reborn took another step forward and Tsuna just desperately wanted to live. To see another day. He shut his eyes and uttered a short apology to his father as he heard a deafening bang.

Tsuna opened his eyes as he was dropped harshly to the ground, still very much alive and very much on fire. The man was scrambling away from him, sporting grotesque third degree burns that looked fresh and were most definitely not there before. Reborn had frozen and was now staring at him with slightly widened eyes belying his surprise as amber flames danced along Tsuna's skin but did not burn him.

The surprise didn't last long, "A sky? How _interesting_.", Reborn purred with a dangerous glint in his eyes. In any other case Tsuna would have run for the hills but Tsuna didn't feel much of anything at this point in time, an eerie calm had settled over him and he could see the world in much brighter shades. It was like Tsuna had been watching cheap cable TV and then suddenly switched to high definition satellite TV.

Tsuna raised a brow, the flames still shrouding him like a cloak, "You know what these are then? Good, that makes things much simpler."

Tsuna could tell the man was confused but not due to any outward sign, it was a feeling that flowed along his veins and sang truth in his ears.

Reborn examined him with penetrating eyes, looking for any hint of an answer in his body language but Tsuna when he was like this knew better than to give anything away. "Ho? What did you say your name was again?", Reborn asked with a deceptively casual tone. His body was seemingly relaxed but Tsuna could see the way he was, in reality coiled as tight as a spring and ready to burst into action at the slightest sign of trouble.

"I didn't tell you my name and I don't intend to. It would benefit all of us if you just took care of the spoils," Tsuna jerked his head towards the man cowering on the ground. "and forgot you ever saw me." Tsuna should silence Reborn but once the shroud of pure calculation and numbers faded away he knew that he would likely regret it and that was if he managed it anyway. He could feel the power draining fast and knew he didn't have much longer not to mention something about Reborn made his intuition whisper danger. He doubted any engagement with this man would end with him on top.

Reborn studied him for a moment longer with those eyes of abyss before a flash of realization passed through his eyes. He smirked, "I believe that would work quite nicely."

 _Deceit_ , the winds seemed to hiss, _such pretty lies fall from his tongue_. Tsuna knew the man was lying but he also knew his time was almost up so he gambled that the man wouldn't shoot him the moment his back was turned and sprinted from the alley.

He didn't look back to see if he was followed, his intuition assuring him that he wasn't for whatever reason, but he still made sure to take as many twisting roads as he could before he reached his apartment. He felt his lungs burning and knew he would collapse the moment he stopped but he pushed forward through the sheer force of his will till he was safely behind the closed door of his apartment.

As the flames flickered away like dying embers and darkness licked at the edges of his vision he felt a jolt of unease as he thought of the man. Realization struck him like lightning a moment later, making his eyelids that were drooping in exhaustion open wide in a moment of pure shock.

 _He had met him before_.

The abyss so like that man's eyes welcomed him with a laugh.

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 **AN: I was supposed to be studying for my boards but I got bored, this is the product. Try not to be too horrified. I'm a reader not a writer. I have absolutely no clue where I'm going with this. I'll write more as I feel like it, if I feel like it and edit the chapters as I progress so the story flows better. Always read my notes first so I can tell you what I changed and what you need to read. while I'm admittedly good at descriptive essays, I'm rather horrible at narrative and spoken speech. I tend to get a tad bit depressed if people criticize me harshly but I can take it and in fact want it if its politely worded and constructive. Again, I can't promise when I'll update or if I'll update so continue at your own peril.**


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